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It’s not to late to stay

I WOULD like to echo the thoughts of Dr Brian Mathew, in his letter to the Swindon Advertiser dated 11 November, in that it is not too late to reverse the decision to exit the EU.

Over the last few weeks I have heard a variety of expert and legal opinions (including from the man who drafted Article 50) that the process behind exiting the EU can be stopped at any time prior to us actually exiting (currently March 2019).

So, if public opinion agrees we want to, we can still halt Brexit.

As Dr Mathew says if we do it m before exiting the EU we keep the UK’s (arguably ‘special’) status we currently have, where we do not have to be part of the Euro nor the Schengen area.

If we leave and then, a few years down the track, realise what an error it has all been that ‘special status’ might not be open to us again.

The standard mantle trotted out by many is “it is the will of the people that we want to leave the EU’’ – that phrase seems to stop any further debate as if that is the ultimate truth and nothing else is relevant.

It is also true, though, that a democracy is not a democracy if it cannot change its mind.

Why should we not exit the EU? The future is not guaranteed but anyone with even half an ear to the ground can hear and see the problems that leaving the EU is going to cause.

While the EU is not perfect - is it not becoming increasingly obvious that the price we as a nation are going to pay for leaving, far outweighs any advantages gained?

In the Advertiser on the day the above letter was published there was a short article saying Honda stated they would struggle with a tariff imposed on cars.

My reading of that is they are saying at the very least their investment in the UK would be reduced.

This is being replicated at organisations and industries up and down the country. It all points to a bleaker, more difficult, less friendly UK future.

In my view the nation is being led down a very precarious path by a few personally ambitious, opportunistic politicians, supported wholeheartedly by a fanatical small percentage of the population.

If we want to make the future of the UK bright again we can.

To do this, though, the normally placid middle mass (of which I am ordinarily one) need to stand up and make sure our viewpoint is heard and recognised and acted upon by our representative politicians. It is not too late.

How incredible a spectacle we have presented in Parliament with so called honourable members cat fighting over the semantics of the EU Withdrawal Bill.

Parliament wishes to have a say on whether a deal, if offered by the EU, is acceptable or not.

They also want to have a say on whether no deal is acceptable or not; although it has to said that any deal might be trumped by the UK simply relying on WTO rules while negotiating Free Trade Deals outside of the EU.

I must say I feel sure that the German car industry will not be at all happy with tariffs of 10 per cent on cars or the Irish Government with a 33.5 per cent tariff on cheddar cheese.

I have previously written that no one actually voted for any particular form of Brexit.

The electorate was not asked to decide on what type of Brexit they wanted to see, what the UK electorate was asked to do was sublimely simple, to vote on a single question which was “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?”

And, much to the annoyance of European bureaucrats and some politicians, the majority of the people voted that the UK should leave.

That seems quite clear and unequivocal to me – a simple question, followed by a simple answer.

The EU has it within its power to agree a trade deal with the UK but it has revealed itself to be what many of us thought it always was, a political construct which depended on vast sums of money to keep the ‘peasants’ happy.

The problem for the EU is that it’s not only the UK which is fed up with being part of the programme. Germany has not yet decided on a government since its elections but looks likely to include some right wing politicians, Spain is feeling the heat generated by the Catalonian fiasco, and Macron in France has managed to achieve what no other French politician has ever done, expunge every bit of goodwill in a few short months.

Des Morgan, Caraway Drive, Swindon

Gallery not wanted

IT WOULD appear that, despite what appears to be the view of the majority of Swindon residents our council is determined we shall have a new museum and art gallery.

This ill-thought out and misconceived idea should be shelved immediately. Not only do the majority of Swindonians not want it, certainly a lot of them are disappointed with the outrageous design of this project.

It actually matches up with nothing in Swindon, apart that is from the disgusting idea of the fountain in the main street of our town. Most people thought the council had reached rock bottom with this monstrosity.

But no, now they are determined to force upon us a new monstrosity in the form of the outrageous design of the proposed museum and art gallery.

Yes, I know the majority of the luvies and art connoisseurs are probably in favour, because they consider it art but the majority of us don’t want it, we don’t need it, there are better things to spend these huge sums of money on.

We have valuable buildings in the town that are crying out to be preserved, Buildings that were a large part of Swindon’s heritage. I refer of course to the Mechanics Institute and the Old Tower which was part of the original town hall and Corn Exchange in Old Swindon.

The tower is the only one of its type in the country.

When are we going to see the council doing something to actually improve the town?

Instead, they just want to make a name for themselves. “I did this for Swindon. Aren’t I great!”

That’s all very well but I could claim that I am writing this for Swindon. What do the rest of you think?

DAVID COLLINS, Blake Crescent, Swindon

Forgive me for living!

RE Swindon Advertiser Monday October 30, 2017. Thank you very much for the information blaming me and many others for the costly expenditure of £4m.

I would like you to forgive us for living. We don’t get what we are entitled to in some cases. Even though we have contributed to the country’s economy during our working lives, those who did work.

I was fortunate to work all my life for this country and have had very little back. I am at the stage in my life we all try to achieve – retirement and expecting to be looked after.

My next words may not sound right but I am not against anybody. I am British, and my opinions are for Britain, my home. What does annoy me is being made a scapegoat for spending monies when monies are spent on immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

We live on our island and really cannot afford to support the rest of the world. We are not a continent, but an island bordered by the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. I don’t want to be an excuse for spending money.

While the Government supports the rest of the world, our essential services suffer, such as the NHS, police, ambulance and fire services.

I have not forgotten about social help and education of which there is a lack.

Further to add to this I read a letter in the Advertiser November 7, by Mr A Collins. He is one of the people who think old people should be dead.

He thinks we were responsible for putting the Conservatives in power. For some he may be right, but mostly wrong.

I voted for someone else. They did not have a chance but had good ideas and I did not vote for Brexit and I am not all right Jack.

Successive governments have deserted the country when things got tough - first Blair, then Cameron and how long before Mrs May follows suit?

Now in the Advertiser on Tuesday, November 9 we have someone wanting donations to help refugees and asylum seekers to fund their travel and the expenditure to keep them is not being targeted like the £4m on the oldies in the October paper.

I HAVE followed ‘the town’ for 65 years and they are the only result I ever look for, although I now live in Hertfordshire.

I thought that having had a perfectly good goal disallowed on Saturday Luke Norris showed great temperament with his penalty kick and the shenanigans of the Chesterfield players to upset him.

Swindon FC and its supporters have always been above the poorer standards of players and supporters and always should be.

ROGER FOORD, Chorleywood, Herts

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